Atom Bank buys North East development house Grasp

With the support of Newcastle based Square One Law, Atom, the UK’s first digital bank has secured its place at the forefront of customer experience innovation with the acquisition of Grasp (UK) Limited, headed by Eutechnyx/Zerolight founder Brian Jobling.

As part of the deal, Brian will become Business Development Director and the development team from Grasp will join the Atom Bank team which is based in Durham. The Grasp team will bring extensive experience of working with some of the biggest consumer brands in the world including projects with F1, NASCAR, MTV and James Bond.

The acquisition forms part of Atom Bank’s strategic plan to create the most engaging user experience in banking. In a single move, this brings together User-Interface expertise from the banking industry with experience from the video games industry. This combined experience in 3D technology and design visualisation is driving the differentiation of Atom’s customer’s experience.

Edward Twiddy, Atom’s Chief Innovations Officer said “Our first conversations with Brian about what gaming and the North East development industry could offer Atom started in the Spring of 2014 when Atom was just an idea. Now on the cusp of going live and after several months of testing, we are bringing some of the best in digital design and development into the heart of the family. It’s great to have found such a talented and dedicated team. Their work is our shop window and we’re really excited about what is already in it and everything that the future promises.”

Brian continued: “Atom Bank is one of the most exciting projects in the North East and my passion for the region meant myself and the team couldn’t possibly turn down the opportunity to work with them long term. An amazing development environment has already been created and it’s great to be in a business with such enthusiasm and drive.

“Atom is rapidly expanding its development team at the moment and there isn’t a better place for top quality developers to hone their trade I look forward to continue working with Edward and his team to create a seamless and engaging user interface experience that will be appreciated by Atom Bank and its customers.

Head of corporate and commercial at Square One Law, James Bryce said: “We have been supportive of the Atom Bank concept from the start and we were delighted to be involved in the acquisition of Grasp. It is fantastic to have such an innovative project in the region and we look forward to seeing Atom Bank continue to grow and develop its presence nationwide.”